John T Williams

John T Williams was a homeless man in Seattle Washington shot and killed by a Seattle police officer who confused Williams as a threat. Williams was a very talented wood carver, starting at young age taught by his father and his father, a tradition that was handed down from generations. At 15 years of age, John T Williams did and accomplished his first wood carving, which made his family very proud, his native background was a belief that did him great justice. Williams had family who loved and cared for him, but he also had a bad addiction to alcohol and that forced him to wonder away from his loved ones, which put him in the predicament he was in when he was shot. John Williams was a harmless drunk and never gave anyone any trouble, he always did as he was told by the Seattle police force, there were even officers that spoke kindly of him when the time arose in the time of his death ,the officer who shot and killed Mr. Williams was unfortunately not well known with him and made a very huge mistake when the circumstances arose. I don't think the city of Seattle understands the negativity of the situation, and how the native American society was affected by this misfortune, It brought a lot of outrage and racism into the community, something that was hard enough to live with before all this happened. I believe that is the only reason the city of Seattle allowed this totem memorial for Mr. Williams, they knew they did wrong and this is their way of saying there sorry. I will always remember Williams even though I never knew him personally, but I believe everybody has good in them no matter what the circumstances are….. . I loved the site of the memorial,, right on the waterfront of pier 57, the water gives it a “Piece of mind” setting, a relaxing calm, a place where you can reflect on what has happened and what could still happen.  People came and went as I stood there and watched, people of so many races, It didn’t matter who you where or where you came from, what mattered was that Williams finally got the respect he deserved, to be able to rest in peace and know that he was the cause of something good in this world. The wood carvers that spoke to us were very nice and told us the meaning of each part of the totem, or should I say the stories, that they believed were the truth. The colors of the totem showed me life, strength, wisdom, courage and hope for our people, and that one day we will all be able to live together as one unity, to work, communicate and live together in harmony, but we all know that will never be the case in the times we live in now but it doesn’t hurt to have a dream. Our people tried this once many years ago and the outcome was tragic and we are still suffering today for our kindness then. May we all have peace and serenity in our lives, as will our children, don’t let the death of our brother be in vain. REST IN PEACE JOHN T WILLIAMS, we are all looking up at you.

John t Williams

Monday July 18th 2011 My class went to visit the John t Williams carving expedition. It was very inspirational and beautiful. I can't get it through my head why such a talented man was taken away from his family and friends by an officer of the law on a technicality of ignorance. Mr Williams was a very kind hearted person and never gave anyone no problem, he just wanted to live his life in peace, alcohol was a factor in his death and I believe the police took that as a reason to justify there wrong doing. John was a very well liked individual and had family that stood up for him even when he couldn't do it for himself. God bless his family and those who where close to him, I will keep him in my prayers and hope that this should never happen again.

Indian poetry film

The one thing that stuck out to me in this film was the way they talked about the native american war veterans, and how they made the choice to go off to war and leave their homes. It shows that the native men wanted to know all about the life and death that war could bring to all cultures and not just the few everybody thought. It gave us, the native americans a better look at what has become of the system and the lands of our people. Many stories can be told through the experiences they seen and lived in the settings of war and proverty in the United States and all countrys.

Liz Taylor Indians

When I look at this painting I see a combination of strength and senuality and pride. Strength of a strong warrior, sensuality of the woman and pride of the Indian nation and their beliefs. The colors of red,green,yellow,gold give the painting a sense of dignity and honor amongst the people and their beliefs,their lands and their heritage. The woman of these powerful warriors have a sense of duty and faithfulness to their people, their strength and honor show how strong  they can be when it comes down to it.
This painting symbolizes the way of the native nation and how they all stick together in the time of need and war. The beauty of this painting gives their story to all who can understand and comprehend the ways of the native american ways.
In this painting you can see many different scenes,like in the headdress there are leaves instead of feathers, and then theres a mans head under the indians chin and don'tlet the pottery full you in the far right corner,or the man leanung inbetween the two pictures, the brick wall or the plains under the cheifs shoulders. Their are many different stories here, you just have to use your imagination and go from there.